The Princess and The Beard
by G30FF
Summary: Harima and Eri are in trouble. Neither of them can remember what happened the night before. While Harima tries to evade Eri and her homocidal butler, Tenma is forced to deal with the idea that Karasuma may have found someone else...


The Princess and the Beard

By: G30FF

* * *

This story began some time last year, after watching all of Seasons 1 and 2 of School Rumble. I enjoyed it; never before have I seen so many misunderstandings and awkward moments linked together into coherent plots. After watching it, I decided to test myself and see if I could replicate that storytelling style. This is the result of my efforts. This is my first attempt at a School Rumble fanfic, or really, anything outside of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. 

School Rumble and all characters are copyright Jin Kobayashi.

* * *

Harima Kenji was not a man normally prone to panic. He liked to think that there was no situation he couldn't get himself out of with his calm, collected attitude and fierce determination. He liked to think he was in control. But as he woke up that morning he found himself on the verge of panic like he had never felt before. 

He could distinctly remember a wonderful dream he had the night before in which he and his beloved Tenma Tsukamoto had gone to a beautiful Cinderella-esque ball, only to return to her house afterwards and make love on her bed. It was very different for him; his dreams about Tenma were usually a lot more… _pure_. But that morning, when he awoke, he realized two things. First, this was not Tenma's room, and second, that was not Tenma whose naked body now pressed against his arm.

Harima couldn't remember much about the night before, and he sure as hell couldn't figure out why he was lying in bed with Eri Sawachika.

Harima had a neutral expression on his face, just barely coming to some realization of what he was doing. He didn't dare move a muscle for fear that he might awaken the girl and invoke her wrath. He tried desperately to figure out what had happened the night before, only to find that his memory was very sketchy. Mikoto had arranged a party at her place to celebrate the end of the midterm exams. Harima didn't care at all until he noticed Tenma's excitement at the prospect; after that, he was just as excited as she was. He was confident that the very personal surroundings would give him the confidence to tell her how he felt, but his plans failed when Oji Karasuma showed up. He remembered Tenma's attention instantly falling on that boring freak and nothing else, to his great dismay.

Then, he suddenly started to remember Oujou. Eri Sawachika had noticed his depression and asked him if he wanted to go get a drink. After that… After that, he couldn't remember anything.

This brought him back to where he was. His eyes quickly scanned the room and he verified that they were in fact both naked. Clothes were strewn on the floor. Six empty beer bottles were on the dresser on the far wall. He recognized the room as in fact belonging to Oujou; he had been there before. The stench of wealth and ego was unmistakable. Or maybe it was the booze. Either way, Harima knew one thing.

He was in trouble.

He tried to keep his calm. He had to remain calm. He had to get away, before the urge to panic became too great. Slowly, he crawled out of her bed, lifting the girl's soft pale arm and resting it on the pillow his head once occupied. He glanced down only momentarily, and for the briefest of moments he was struck by the look of her golden hair framing her soft face. When she slept she looked so… harmless. You'd never be able to tell how callous and arrogant she was, he thought. But Harima quickly derailed that train of thought. It was bad enough how this situation _looked_ — he didn't need to also _think_ impure thoughts about another woman. Tenma would never be able to forgive him!

Harima climbed off of the bed and quickly started gathering his clothes. "Damn it, damn it!" he muttered to himself. "Must stay calm, must stay calm," he grumbled, while picking up his pants. All of this calm was pushing Harima to his limits, and a moment later he finally snapped. "Damn it! How am I supposed to stay calm?!" he said louder, dropping his pants and grabbing his head in frustration. He was tense. He was frustrated. And he just realized how loudly he was talking. Slowly, Harima's head turned to the bed he had just vacated. Sitting up, an arm clutching the sheets up to her chest, and her face contorted in a look of pure panic and disbelief, was Eri.

Now he was _really_ in trouble.

* * *

Eri Sawachika had only been roused from her sleep by the sound of something heavy dropping on the floor of her room. She had the strangest dream the night before. She dreamed that she was a feudal princess and that a dreadful rogue who looked just like Harima Kenji had snuck into her room and had his way with her. She couldn't remember ever having a dream so vivid before. But when she sat up and saw Harima himself, naked and standing next to her bed, she could only manage one reaction.

_Panic_.

Eri let out a scream. A loud, piercing scream that caused Harima to clutch his ears and grimace. "Don't scream, Oujou!" he shouted at her angrily.

A split second later, a banging sound was heard from the door to her bedroom. Eri stopped screaming the instant her butler Nakamura burst into the room, obliterating the door and sending small wooden splinters flying through the air with a well-placed kick. The butler's one good eye gleamed with hellish rage and clutched in his hands was, oddly enough, an assault rifle that Eri didn't even know he owned. There was a brief, deadly silence as Harima and Eri froze in place, and Nakamura took a visual inventory of the scene. It didn't take his years of insight and combat training to decide the appropriate course of action. "Kenji," he muttered darkly, raising the rifle level with Harima's panicked head, "what have you done to my mistress?"

"I—" Harima tried to begin, only to be cut off by a bullet flying towards him. Nakamura wasn't willing to wait for his answer as he opened fire. Eri watched silently with wide eyes as Harima lunged, jumped, and dodged rapidly while grabbing his clothes. "I didn't do anything!" he tried to protest.

"You will die, scoundrel!" Nakamura announced. He was fiercely loyal; there was no question of that.

Eri had to cover her ears from the sound of gunfire. She just wanted it to stop. Luckily for her, her wish was about to be granted. Harima, apparently realizing that there was no room to reason with the crazed butler, ran for and jumped through the window, shattering the glass. Eri's eyes widened and she jumped off the bed in panic, covering herself with her sheet while she ran to the window. Nakamura tried to force his way past her to the window to take another shot at Harima, but Eri blocked his way. She was sure he was going to die.

Apparently she had underestimated Harima Kenji's durability. He took the landing as gracefully as a frightened, naked man could and started running, holding his pile of clothes to cover his shame while he made his escape. Eri breathed a sigh of relief.

For the first time, Eri had a moment to reflect on what had just happened. Harima was in her room? Naked? With her? _Also_ naked? Eri tried to remember what happened. They were at Mikoto's party; she offered to have a drink with Hige… her memory ended there. They couldn't have done what the evidence suggested they did… could they?

"He got away," Nakamura muttered. "Fear not, my lady, I shall terminate that street rat for his trespasses," he announced, lifting the rifle and walking towards the door.

Eri's eyes widened. "Wait!" she called to him, holding her hand up to stop him. "Don't lay a hand on him!" she ordered.

Nakamura looked surprised. "But my lady—"

"I mean it! Leave him alone!" she repeated.

Nakamura was quiet. She tried to stare him down, as well as a small rich girl could stare down a tall, burly butler holding an assault rifle, and prayed that her position of authority over him would be enough to ensure Harima's safety — at least, temporarily. She had to find out what really happened that night and if she didn't like the answer, she wanted the pleasure of killing that Hige herself. "Very well," Nakamura finally told her. "I will not lay a hand on Harima Kenji."

"Good," Eri told him, still maintaining her look of authority. "Now go, I need to get changed."

Nakamura bowed low and quickly left Eri to her business. Noticing that her broken door wouldn't give her any privacy, Eri sighed deeply and took off the sheet she was wearing, lifting it and hanging it up on the doorframe to provide her with privacy. She knew that by the time she returned home that night, the door, the window, and the bullet holes would all be fixed. Eri cast a glance at herself in the mirror. Did it really happen…? Did she sleep with Harima? She didn't think she looked any more mature or womanly… But what if it did happen? Did this mean they were together? Or was she just a one night stand? She was so confused that it almost made her cry. Her eyes slowly fell down to the dresser. Sitting on the dresser was Hige's black sunglasses; positioned in such a way that it felt to her like she was staring into them. Eri reached her slender hand out to pick up the shades. Hige wore them so often that they were more like eyes to her than his real eyes.

Eri clutched the sunglasses gently with both hands. She needed answers. She had to know what this meant to her and Hige. And she had to do it without either Mikoto or Akira finding out.

* * *

What a beautiful day, Tenma Tsukamoto thought to herself. She skipped down the walkway that led to school, her small pigtails bobbing in time with her steps, seeming to follow the beat of some unheard tune the airheaded girl just made up and was humming to herself. The party the previous night had been a lot of fun, especially when Karasuma arrived. It was great to get to be so close to the guy she loved so much! Sure he didn't really say much at all and just wound up sitting near the wall alone, barely acknowledging Tenma's presence at all, but she was just so happy to be so close to him that she didn't particularly care what the circumstances were.

Tenma entered the building and hurried to her locker to change her shoes. She hadn't run into any of her friends yet; they must have arrived before her. She was so excited to talk about the events of the party that she could hardly contain herself. She almost couldn't wait for final exams, so Mikoto could hold another party. She got a few funny looks from other students due to her overly enthusiastic and loud humming, but she didn't care. She was in such a good mood that nothing could bring her down.

As Tenma reached the stairs and started towards the second floor where her class was located, she caught sight of a familiar looking dome-headed figure coming up around the corner of the stairwell. Tenma's eyes brightened even further, if that were possible, at the realization of who she was about to run into. Karasuma was here! Surely he must have been waiting for her arrival, to thank her for such a good time in private!

Tenma's imagination went into overdrive. Suddenly, the world turned a bright pink, and the walls around them disappeared in a flurry of flower petals. Tenma could feel the boy's arms wrap around her, and heard his soft, warm voice announce "Thank you, Tenma."

"Oh, Karasuma," she cooed softly, resting her hands and cheek against his chest. She was in heaven…

"Thanks for agreeing to see me, Karasuma-sempai," came the voice of a female that Tenma didn't recognize.

Tenma blinked. In a flash, her fantasy world was gone, and she was back on the stairwell. Who was that? She didn't recognize the voice from any of the second year students she knew… Tenma had to figure out who it was.

Tenma dropped down and peered around the corner to try and find out who it was. She saw more of Karasuma coming into view, and then there was a girl. She was shorter than he was, and to Tenma's dismay, was quite pretty. Fair skin, long brown hair that stretched to her mid-back with a hair clip keeping her bangs out of her dainty face. Her eyes were big and brown, with incredible depth, and she had a figure that rivalled even Tenma's younger sister Yakumo. "No problem," Karasuma told her.

"I think we're going to have a lot of fun together!" the girl said with a smile and a soft giggle. "I've got a lot of plans!"

"I'm looking forward to it," Karasuma told her, his bland expression never changing in the slightest.

Then the girl took Karasuma's arm. "I've already found us a room we can use! Let me show you!" And with that, she led Tenma's beloved Karasuma away, up the stairs. Tenma wanted to cry out after them, but she found she couldn't. Tears streamed down her face as a horrifying realization hit her. Karasuma was going to go do… things with that girl! She was stealing his heart from her! And he was _letting_ her! Tenma wanted to cry. She couldn't face her friends now; she couldn't face anyone. Slowly, Tenma pushed herself to her feet and turned around. She couldn't go to school that day. What was left of her good mood was gone. All she wanted was to go home and mourn her lost love.

* * *

Eri sat at her desk, looking around the classroom cautiously. Her hair was done up in its traditional pigtail style, and she was clad in the school's uniform. In her lap, she nervously clutched the sunglasses Harima had left in her room that morning. No worries, she was just going to leave the sunglasses on his desk nonchalantly. No worries, unless Mikoto and Akira saw her. Then she might have something to worry about. Fortunately, the two girls were talking with each other on the other side of the room. Perfect. Now was her chance to make the drop.

Eri quickly wrapped the sunglasses in a handkerchief to disguise their identity as further assurance. She pushed herself out of her chair and quickly moved towards Harima's desk. She placed the wrapped sunglasses on his desk, and turned around…

"What're you doing?" Mikoto Suou asked, leaning towards Eri, a mischievous grin on her tanned face. Her hands were clasped behind her back, and she looked as innocent as someone who was up to something could look.

Eri jerked in surprise. How had she made it from the other side of the room so quickly? "I'm not doing anything!" she said.

"Look," instructed a voice from behind her. Eri turned around again to see the neutral stare of Akira Takano looking back at her. Eri looked downward. In Akira's hands were Harima's unwrapped sunglasses.

"T-those aren't yours!" Eri tried to protest as quietly and discretely as she could.

"They're not yours either," Mikoto commented, smiling slyly and trotting around Eri smugly. "So what are you doing with Harima's sunglasses, huh?"

"He—" Eri stammered, "he left it at the party. I thought I'd bring them back! That's it!"

"You both left the party early," Akira commented in her dull, mysterious tone. "And he was wearing them when you left."

"So what are you doing with them?" Mikoto asked again. "You can tell us, we're your best friends!"

Eri knew she was cornered. She looked between the girls, desperately trying to think of a less embarrassing way out of this, and finding none. She sighed. She dreaded this moment, and now here it was. "Fine, just come over here and keep quiet, okay?"

Mikoto and Akira nodded, while the three moved to the back corner of the room by the window. Mikoto and Akira cornered Eri against the wall to prevent her escape; they knew her well. "So what happened with you and Harima?" Mikoto asked again.

"Look, we left the party together and went to get some drinks," Eri told them quietly, looking around cautiously to make sure nobody was looking in on them.

"Aaaand?" Mikoto asked.

"And then…"

"Yeees?"

"And then… I don't remember."

Mikoto could barely contain her fit of giggles at that statement. "Just how much did you two have to drink?" she asked.

"I told you I don't remember!" Eri shouted, quickly catching herself and slapping a hand over her mouth.

"What about the sunglasses?" Mikoto asked. "What _do_ you remember?"

Eri was quiet. She didn't want to say it. But Mikoto and Akira wouldn't let her get away now; she was defeated. "I woke up in my room," Eri whispered. "And Harima was there. And we were… naked."

Any hope Eri had of keeping people from finding out was gone the instant Mikoto squealed in delight at the news. "I don't believe it! You and Harima?! This is so great!" she declared.

"Keep it down, damn it!" Eri growled angrily.

"What was that?!" came a male voice from the front of the room. Hanai Haruki pushed his large frame up from his chair, the overhead lights glinting off the broad lenses of his glasses and making the wide smile on his face appear even more creepy. "Eri and Harima are together?!"

"Looks like it!" Mikoto replied with a grin.

"We are not!" Eri tried to complain, but the damage was done.

The other students immediately began to talk amongst themselves. Eri barely registered the different conversations taking place around her, but she knew that each of them was about her and Hige. "I always knew they liked each other!" "It's about time!" "But I wanted Eri!" Hanai made a fist and pumped it in the air, letting out a cheer. This couldn't possibly have gotten any worse.

And then Harima entered the classroom.

* * *

Harima was feeling bad enough already about what happened. Not only had he betrayed Tenma, but he lost his favourite sunglasses. He didn't think he could feel any worse than he did, until he opened the door to the classroom.

He was instantly greeted by the sight of Hanai Haruki charging him. "Harima!" he shouted. Harima scowled. He instinctively dropped into a combat stance; he recognized this scene. He was used to Hanai's efforts to destroy him by now, but to his great surprise the attack never came. Instead, Hanai's hand shot out and grabbed Harima's, lifting it and smiling broadly. "Congratulations!"

"Eh?" Harima asked, confused, trying to pull his hand away from Hanai's firm grip.

"Congratulations on your relationship with Eri Sawachika!" Hanai announced.

Harima's eyes widened and he took in a deep breath. "_Eh?!_" he shouted in shock. He quickly looked around the room; there was no sign of Tenma in the room, and in the far corner he saw Eri, surrounded by Tenma's friends Mikoto and Akira. He had a pretty good idea what happened. Eri had bragged to her friends about it!

"I'm so glad you're no longer a threat!" Hanai continued on. "I will cheer on your love for all of eternity!" he declared to the heavens.

"You don't get it, Four-Eyes!" Harima shouted, gripping Hanai's face and shoving him away from him, sending him tumbling back into the desks.

"You and Sawachika-san are dating?" Karen Ichijou asked, smiling happily and clasping her hands together. "Congratulations, Harima-kun!"

Harima felt an arm wrap around his shoulders, and saw Kyosuke Imadori by his side. "Nice work, Harima!" he declared. "You sure bagged a hot one!"

Thankfully, Harima didn't have to kill Imadori himself; Karen was quick to grab his arm and pull him away, her uncharacteristic strength making it quite easy. He noticed Mikoto and Akira bustling in front of Eri, gripping her shoulders and finally pushing her towards Harima. Harima glared down at Eri angrily, praying to any god there was that she would just burst into flames right then and there. She didn't meet his eyes, and he didn't care whether she was intimidated or embarrassed by him. She just held her hand out to him. In it were Harima's sunglasses. "Here, Hige, they're yours," she told him quietly.

Harima didn't say anything. He just reached out and snatched the sunglasses back from her, putting them on. He was just going to leave and ignore all of this in an attempt to salvage what was left of his pride. Then he heard Mikoto shout from inside the classroom, "Kiss her, you dope!"

Harima cringed and turned around, readying himself to tell Mikoto just where to go and what to do when she got there, when a soft voice from in the hall caught his attention. "Harima-kun?" Harima turned and stood in shock.

Yakumo Tsukamoto stood before him, clutching a bento box in her hands and looking straight into his eyes with her sharp red ones. She looked curious. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I-Imouto-chan!" Harima shouted, addressing Yakumo by the nickname he associated with her. Harima instantly began to panic. She must have been bringing lunch to Tenma, like the good little sister she was. But that meant that Tenma would show up any moment! If she came in and saw this she would never forgive him, and he would never be able to face her again! He had to get out of there!

Harima turned and started running down the hall. "Hige!" Eri shouted after him, but it was too late. He was gone.

* * *

Yakumo stared after Harima in surprise. She had no idea what to make of what just happened. What was Harima-kun so afraid of? Was it her? Was it Sawachika-san?

"Hey, Yakumo!" Mikoto called out, a smirk on her face as she approached Yakumo. Yakumo was very confused. For a moment she found herself wishing she actually could read the mind of someone just so she could understand why Harima was so spooked.

"Um," Yakumo began, holding up the lunchbox, "is nee-san here? I have her lunch."

"She hasn't shown up yet," Mikoto explained. "It's kind of weird; she should have been here by now."

Yakumo looked around the room. Karen had Imadori in a death grip, and Hanai was picking himself up off the floor. "What just happened?" Yakumo asked quietly.

Mikoto was about to explain, when Eri clamped her hand over Mikoto's mouth. "Oh, it's nothing!" Eri interjected, laughing as casually as she could while dragging Mikoto back into the room. She snatched the bento box from Yakumo's hands, and added, "When Tenma gets here we'll give this to her! See you later!"

It didn't take a psychic to tell that Eri was hiding something. Then, Yakumo had an idea. From a young age, she had been able to read the minds of other people. Specifically, she could read the minds of people who were attracted to her. And there was one person in the room whose mind she could read on a consistent basis. Yakumo glanced towards Hanai Haruki, and sure enough she could read his thoughts as if they were cartoon speech bubbles floating over his head. Hanai had a contented grin on his face, and thought, "Now that Harima is sleeping with Eri, there will be nothing standing in the way of me and my precious Yakumo! Victory is assured!"

Yakumo wasn't sure what to make of Hanai's inner monologue. Harima and Eri were sleeping together...?

* * *

That night, at the Tsukamoto residence, Yakumo learned that Tenma had never in fact made it to school. She had barricaded herself in her room, and Yakumo could feel the distraught thoughts spewing forth from her older sister's room. The only thing that brought Tenma out of her room was Yakumo's announcing the preparation of dinner, but not even that was enough to cheer Tenma up. Usually Yakumo's preparations could cheer Tenma up right away, no matter what the circumstances. With Tenma so upset that she could hardly eat, Yakumo knew right away that it had something to do with Karasuma. When Tenma was upset, her crush on Karasuma was usually the cause. Yakumo decided that the best thing she could do would be to try and take Tenma's mind off her problem, and so she felt perfectly justified in asking Tenma a question she had been mulling over ever since the incident in Tenma's classroom.

"Nee-san," Yakumo began, "what's it like to sleep with a boy?"

Well, Yakumo's question certainly got Tenma to stop sulking. The only problem now was that Tenma was furious. She slammed her palms against the table and glared at Yakumo, unable to disguise her obvious concern for Yakumo's well-being. "_What?_" she shouted. "You shouldn't ever wonder about that!" she declared. "All men are monkeys who'll just cheat on you! They can't be trusted!"

Yakumo was taken aback, finding herself pushing away from the frightening display her sister was putting on. She could see a combination of anger and over-protectiveness in the thoughts that Tenma unknowingly flung her way. "W-what?" Yakumo asked meekly.

"If you trust men they'll just stomp on your love! They're heartless scum! Men are _monkeys!_" she repeated.

"All men?" Yakumo asked quietly.

"All men!" Tenma confirmed, crossing her arms and huffing.

"But what about Harima-kun?" she asked. Surely Harima couldn't be a heartless monkey like Tenma claimed. Not Harima.

"Even—" Tenma caught herself in mid thought. Yakumo realized that Tenma had been given pause by her statement; Harima Kenji was Tenma's best male friend. She trusted him implicitly for his opinion on other men or just to be there. Of course she had no idea about Harima's feelings for her in spite of all the evidence, but she did know one thing: there was no other man aside from Karasuma that Tenma trusted more.

"Nee-san?" Yakumo asked when she noticed the confused and bewildered look on Tenma's face wasn't going away. She lifted a hand and waved it in front of Tenma's eyes.

"That's it!" Tenma declared with so loudly that it forced Yakumo to fall back on her butt.

"Nee-san...?"

"Why didn't I think of it sooner?" Tenma asked rhetorically. "Harima-kun is the answer! He's got to know what I should do about Karasuma!" Yakumo wasn't entirely sure how much help Harima could or would be in any situation involving Karasuma, so she simply let Tenma finish her tirade. "Tomorrow at school I'll talk to him, and with Harima-kun's help I'll reclaim my lost love!"

As Tenma wolfed down the last of her dinner and started off for her room, Yakumo was left alone. After she was gone, Yakumo quietly said, "But you never answered my question."

* * *

"Harima..."

"Who's there?"

"Harima..."

"Tenma-chan? Is that you?"

"Harima..."

Harima Kenji was alone in the school building. The lights were out, but sunlight coming through the windows gave evidence that it was still day. And it was quiet. Eerily quiet. Harima could not tell if anyone else was at school, but everything was so still he had to guess there wasn't. But why? It was still light out. And who was calling to him?

"Harima..."

His instincts told him not to find out who the voice was. He knew it was female, but he didn't recognize it as Tenma. It could have been a trap. And yet something in him compelled him to follow the voice's beckoning.

He followed the sound of the voice, up the stairs of the building, to the second floor. "Harima..." He kept going, down the hallway, past the classrooms, until he finally stopped. Class 2-C. "Harima..." The voice was much clearer now. This must have been it. Harima flung open the door to the room. There was nobody inside. The entire room was bathed in a soft glow due to the light shining through the window. Harima took a deep breath and prepared himself for an imminent attack, walking in.

Somehow, Harima wound up stepping on a banana peel that seemed to have come from nowhere. He wasn't given the opportunity to think about where it could have come from, as he slipped and fell over face-first to the floor. Harima looked up from where he fell, and instantly froze, his face paling to sheet-white.

"Harima..." Lying on the floor in front of him was Oujou, Eri Sawachika, but she looked very different from what he was used to. Apart from the submissive and impassioned face, she was half naked. Her blouse was open and hanging off her shoulders, and her uniform skirt was bunched around her knees. Her modesty was only protected by silky white matching undergarments. "Harima, I want you," she cooed softly to him, reaching a hand out to cup his cheek. Harima could only think of one way to respond to this advance.

He screamed.

* * *

Harima awoke on the roof of the high school. His heart was pounding in his chest from sheer terror and panic, and his eyes were wide. Harima propped himself up on his forearms, breathing heavily and quickly. Memories of what he had just been dreaming about were still fresh in his memory. As he thought on it, his hand clenched into a fist and punched the roof beneath him. "Now that damn harlot is invading my dreams!" Harima shouted in anger.

Unknown to Harima, a man stood on a rooftop in the distance. If he had been paying attention, he might have noticed the light gleam off of the barrel of Nakamura's sniper rifle as he took aim at Harima's head. Eri-sama had ordered him not to lay a hand on Harima, and he fully intended to obey her wishes. That's why he decided to use a gun. "You're mine, Kenji," he muttered, cocking the rifle.

"Harima?" a female voice called to Harima, back on the roof of the school.

Harima began to panic. His dream was coming true! He was about to try and jump off the roof, but then he realized that this time he did recognize the voice. It was Tenma! He turned quickly, and sure enough, Tenma Tsukamoto was standing at the door to the rooftop. "Tenma-chan!" Harima shouted happily and relieved. Finally, things were looking up!

On his rooftop, Nakamura lowered the rifle. "Damn," he muttered. He couldn't take the chance of harming Eri's friend. Plus, he didn't want any witnesses. "You shall live one more day, Kenji," he muttered, jumping down from the rooftop to plan his next attack.

"Harima, can I talk to you?" she asked.

It was then that Harima noticed the tears in Tenma's eyes. She was sad? But Tenma was such a happy girl... His eyes widened. There was only one thing that could have been making her so upset.

She found out about what Eri did to him.

It was the only answer. She found out what happened, and was devastated. She was here to tell him that he had betrayed her. His worst fears were coming true: this meant the end of his chance to be with Tenma! He couldn't face her now! He had to figure out what to do to fix this first!

"Uh, I can't talk right now," Harima told her.

"But..."

"I've gotta go for now, something's come up," Harima cut her off, working his way past her and running back down the stairs into the school. Damn it, damn it, damn it! He hated disappointing her like this, but the way he saw it, he had nothing to lose. If he left to sort out his thoughts, he might have had a chance to make her see that it wasn't his fault what happened. Otherwise, his chance to be with Tenma was gone forever.

* * *

"So what are you gonna say to him?" Mikoto asked Eri as they and Akira walked down the hall towards the lunch room.

"I'd just as soon not talk to him at all," Eri grumbled.

Mikoto grinned. "Too embarrassed by the rest of the class finding out about your lovey-dovey romance?" she asked smugly.

Eri went immediately on the defensive. "I am not!" she shouted, her face red from embarrassment. "I didn't do anything with him, I don't like him, I can barely stand to look at him, and I sure as hell don't_love_ him!"

"Methinks you protest too much," Mikoto teased her. "Just tell him how you really feel and he'll come running!"

Eri scoffed. "No way will he _ever _come running to me, even if I _did_ tell him I love him, which I don't!"

Akira, who had been strangely quiet throughout the discussion, stopped and lifted a hand. "Why is Harima running towards us?" she asked.

There was a brief moment of silence as the irony of the situation sank in for all three of the girls. Eri was the first to react, whirling her head around, her heartbeat increasing to jackhammer speed as her eyes confirmed what Akira had said. Harima Kenji was indeed running towards them. She couldn't believe it. What was she going to say to him? Would he run up and embrace her, tell her that he was sorry for getting mad at her and that he wanted to be with her? No, there was no way that would happen, not with Harima. But what would she say to him? What would he say to her? As he got closer, Eri decided she had to make the first move. "Harima—"

She didn't get to finish, as the boy ran right past the three girls, not making a sound or even acknowledging them. The speed of his passing kicked up a wind that flipped their skirts and set Eri's pigails flailing behind her. Eri was frozen in place, an irritated look plastered on her face. They stood in silence until Harima had finally left, turning down the hallway and out of sight. "What was that all about?" Mikoto asked.

"I... I..." Eri stammered, trying to form a coherent sentence in between her rage.

"Harima!" shouted a familiar voice, approaching from the direction Harima originated from. Eri was still staring in stunned rage when Tenma caught up with the other girls and asked breathlessly, "Which way did Harima-kun go?"

Mikoto and Akira pointed down the hall. "What's up?" Mikoto asked.

"I don't know!" Tenma told them. "I tried to talk to him up on the roof and he just took off!" With that, she ran off down the hall in the direction the girls had indicated.

"He just ran off?" Mikoto asked, blinking in curiosity and lifting a finger to her chin contemplatively.

Akira, whose face suggested she knew all about what was happening, simply replied, "Maybe he was embarrassed."

"That fits," Mikoto reasoned, tapping her fist into her palm. "Tenma's the only person in the class who didn't hear about what happened between Harima and Eri. Maybe he was worried she'd find out because he was embarrassed about it all! What do you think, Eri?" she asked.

Eri didn't reply. She just continued to stare into space, blind rage preventing her from coming up with any kind of coherent verbal retort. She should have known better than to think he'd come running to her. Her eye twitched. "T-that... asshole..." she finally muttered quietly.

* * *

"Ten Ten, I love you!"

"I... I can't love you back! You violated one of my best friends! I can never trust you again!"

"But Ten Ten!"

"Goodbye fore—"

Harima crumpled the page he had been drawing on, shouting in undisguised anger. His guilt was following him to his only remaining refuge from reality: his manga drawing. He couldn't even write the scene out as he wanted because every time he started to try drawing the two main characters, who as usual looked exactly like Harima himself and Tenma, finally confessing their feelings and getting together, he wound up drawing Tenma's avatar refuting him for touching Eri. It just wasn't fair! He didn't mean to do it, why should he be punished for it, even in his imagination?!

Harima flung the paper across the room to join the growing pile of rejected pages that had met with a similar fate. Any more of this and his entire bedroom would be filled with destroyed pages. He stared down at the kotatsu, and the stack of blank papers that sat there, taunting him and his waning creative drive. He looked at his hand and lifted the pen that had been forged from a fish's spine. He couldn't do this by himself. And yet there was only one other person he trusted to be able to help him without judging him. He just hoped she wasn't as angry at him as he was sure Tenma was.

He picked up the phone and dialled her number. He waited, and waited, until a female voice picked up on the other end. "Hello?" the soft feminine voice asked.

"Imouto-chan?" he asked.

"Harima-kun?" Yakumo asked. "What is it?"

"Can you come over and help me with my manga?" he asked her. She was used to his asking for help, though it was mainly when a deadline was coming up.

"Sure," she responded, "but why? Your next manuscript isn't due for three weeks."

"Please," he grunted into the phone. He didn't want to have to explain his ulterior motives for inviting her over, and prayed that she wouldn't ask any further.

Yakumo was quiet. Harima's tension was practically tangible. He held his breath while he waited for her response. When she finally replied, "All right, I'll be right over," he sighed in relief.

"I'll see you soon," he told her, hanging up the phone.

Yakumo wished she knew what was wrong with Harima, but she wasn't about to ask. She could tell he didn't want to talk about it, at least not on the phone. If he felt like it, he would tell her when she arrived. There were very few moments when Yakumo wished she could read his mind, and this was one of them. However it was in part that mystique, that sense of having to learn about him on her own without getting it all at once, that drew her to him. He was one of the only people in the world she couldn't read. All she could do for now was to go to him and see what she could find out. And perhaps she could get answers from him that Tenma wouldn't give her.

He was there to greet her at the door to his apartment. He looked very tense and stressed out. She knew his publishing schedule and knew that he didn't have to have a manuscript in for some time, so she could only guess that something happened at school that was bothering him. Maybe it had something to do with Sawachika, and the fact that everyone said she and Harima had slept together. She knew how he felt about her sister; of course it had to be bothering him. Was it as simple as that?

"Thanks for coming," he told her, ushering her inside, being as professional as usual. "I can't get this scene to turn out right."

"What scene?" Yakumo asked, taking off her coat.

"It's... a confession scene," he explained. No surprise there, she thought. "But I can't get it to turn out how I want."

Yakumo looked around his messed up bedroom, and eyed the stack of crumpled paper in the corner. She reached for it. "Can I see what you tried so far?"

"No!" Harima shouted, throwing himself in between her and the stack of paper, causing her to back up in surprise at his speed and the panicked look on his face. "I mean," he added, trying to sound nonchalant, "I'm just very disappointed with these and I don't want to show them off. I'll just tell you the scene."

Yakumo looked at him, obviously unconvinced by his act. She knew that looking at the pile of papers would surely tell her what she wanted to know, but she didn't want to upset him. "All right," she replied quietly, moving to sit by his kotatsu to listen to him.

Harima started to pace slowly around the room, as if trying to word the scene properly. "You see, the characters I have are named Hanio and Ten Ten," he explained. Right, Harima and Tenma, Yakumo immediately realized, but she didn't say anything. "And this is the climax of the manga. Hanio has just fought through an army of thugs and rescued Ten Ten. Now he is finally able to confess to her," he added, crossing his arms behind his back, "and she's supposed to say she loves him too and they live happily ever after."

"But what's wrong with it?" Yakumo asked.

Harima was quiet. He didn't look at her, but she could see the sides of his eyes just past his sunglasses. She could see the anxiety there. "W-whenever I start writing that scene," he told her, "it just doesn't come out right. Ten Ten keeps rejecting Hanio, claiming he did something wrong..."

"Why don't you just write it that way?" she asked.

"That's not how it's supposed to end!" Harima shouted. "They're supposed to be together and happy!"

"Is it really supposed to be that easy?" she asked quietly. "Life isn't that easy, you know."

Harima grunted. "It's a manga. It's fantasy. It should be easy," he muttered.

Yakumo looked him over. In a roundabout way, she realized this was his way of asking for her help with his problems with her sister. "If Hanio has done something wrong," she reasoned, "then you shouldn't ignore it. You need to make him resolve that thing and prove that he's still worthy of Ten Ten's love," she explained as best she could. Harima stopped. He looked down at Yakumo, his expression vacant. "O-of course, if you don't want to write it that way," Yakumo tried to correct herself, fearing she had said something to upset him.

Harima walked towards the kotatsu and dropped into a sitting position next to it. A smile had finally returned to his face. "You're a genius, Imouto-chan!" he told her. "If I can't change the way things happen, I just need to rethink things and they'll all work out! Here, help me with this," he instructed as he picked up another sheet of paper and began to draw confidently. Yakumo breathed a sigh of relief and felt a small smile tug at her lips.

For the next three hours they worked. Harima cranked out page after page as if he were a man possessed, and Yakumo worked hard to ink each page, barely managing to catch up to his pace. Harima certainly managed to rise to the occasion, Yakumo thought. He no longer tried to force his characters to say what he thought they should and instead simply allowed them to say what they wanted to say. Ideas began to flow from him, and he wrote an entire story involving Hanio making amends to Ten Ten. She was glad he had finally realized what he needed to do.

When they had finally finished, Harima stretched his arms over his head and flopped back on the floor, letting out a loud yawn. "I've never worked that hard before," he commented. "It's like the pen had a mind of its own."

"You did well," Yakumo told him, collecting up the finished pages of the manuscript and piling them up neatly. "I should probably go home," she started to say before she took another look at Harima and noticed that he had fallen asleep, his chest rising and falling and the sound of his soft snoring filling the air. He had worked so hard that she couldn't blame him.

And then a thought came to her. She remembered her discussion with her sister earlier, about what it was like to sleep with a boy. She admitted that she was very curious. There was no other boy she trusted more than Harima. If she was going to do it, she knew she'd want to do it with him. After thinking long and hard about it, Yakumo decided she would do it. She had to know.

Slowly, Yakumo pushed herself out from under the kotatsu, crawling over the floor to Harima's sleeping form. She looked down over him, eyeing him and wondering if she had the nerve to do it. She slowly shifted her position, and moved to lie down next to him. She faced him on the floor, looking at his face and lying against his outstretched arm, lifting her arms to her chest and smiling. The warmth of his body felt nice. So this is what it was like to sleep with a boy. As Yakumo felt herself drift off to sleep, she muttered quietly, "It feels good..."

* * *

Outside, on the roof of the building across the street, the butler Nakamura looked through the sight of his sniper rifle at the sleeping pair. "Curses," he muttered. Another innocent in the way; Sawachika-sama would never forgive him if he harmed her best friend's sister. "You will not hide from me forever, Kenji," Nakamura vowed, hopping off the roof and disappearing into the night.

* * *

An hour later, Harima awoke to the darkness of his bedroom. It was late, he realized. He tried to get up, but found that he couldn't; there was a weight holding his arm down. Casting a glance down, he realized that Yakumo was still there and sleeping against his arm. She must have been as tired as he was, he thought. Suddenly, he had a thought. He looked at the clock. Crap! He had to get Yakumo home or Tenma would worry herself sick! If that happened, she really wouldn't ever forgive him!

He lifted his arm and gently pushed on Yakumo's shoulder. "Imouto-chan?" he whispered, trying to wake her. "Wake up! You've got to go home!" No luck. She was out cold. Harima grumbled. He had no choice. He would have to take Yakumo back to her home himself. There was a chance he would find Tenma there, but he had to risk it if he was to have any chance of salvaging whatever chance there was for a relationship with her.

In no time, Harima had hefted Yakumo up on his back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and holding her legs up, walking down the street to where he knew Tenma's house was. He had made the trip a few times before, and he knew the fastest way. He also knew how the back way in. He was just going to sneak in, drop off Yakumo, and leave. He couldn't face Tenma right now, not when he didn't know what to say to her.

Tenma's house was quiet when he finally arrived. Yakumo was still sound asleep, and nothing he did could stir her. At least she wouldn't give away his presence. Most of the lights were out. Tenma was probably asleep, so mercifully he wouldn't be noticed as he dropped Yakumo off. Walking towards the back of the large house, Harima slid open the door and tiptoed inside, looking for a comfortable spot on the ground, kneeling down and lowering Yakumo to the floor. She looked so peaceful when she slept, but he had no intention of staying behind and watching her. He had to get out before anyone found him.

Harima pushed himself to his feet as quietly as he could. He turned around...

"What are you doing, Harima-kun?" Tenma asked him, standing in front of him in her loose pyjamas, hands on her hips, and a suspicious look on her face.

Harima immediately went into panic mode, pulling back and starting to stammer. Sweat rolled down his face as he explained, "I'm so sorry, Tenma-chan! Imouto-chan was at my place helping me with my manga and we fell asleep and I brought her back—"

But he didn't get to finish, or even hear her response to his explanation. The stern look on Tenma's face melted into a crying pout. She let out a loud whine and flung herself at Harima, wrapping her arms around him and crying. W-what was this all about?! Had she finally forgiven him? Was this a sign that they were meant to be after all?!

"Harima, please, help me! Karasuma-kun's found another girl and I don't know what to do!" she pleaded against his chest.

Harima froze in place. He felt like he could have crumbled to dust and blown away in the wind. Once again, fate was a cruel mistress.

* * *

"She was so upset earlier; this surprise visit is really going to cheer her up!" Mikoto explained as she, Eri and Akira walked down the street towards Tenma's house.

"I don't know why we couldn't do this at my place or something," Eri muttered. "The food would be nicer."

"And how were we gonna drag Tenma all the way down there at this time of night?" Mikoto asked. "Besides, this cake we're bringing will be fine!"

"Do you know what time it is?! She probably won't even want to see us!" Eri shouted in irritation.

Mikoto lifted her arm and stopped Eri in her tracks. She turned to face the blonde girl. "Okay, you've been in a bad mood since we left! You're not still embarrassed about this whole Harima thing, are you?" she asked.

Eri blushed brightly. "I'm not embarrassed!" she retorted loudly.

"Yes you are," Akira accused simply, her gaze as stern as ever.

"You can't just let this stop you from living your life," Mikoto reminded her. "If you like him, just tell him and see what happens! If he does too, then get together and stop letting it bother you! If he doesn't, then move on!"

"I don't like—"

"You can't lie to us," Mikoto reminded her, crossing her arms and grinning accusingly at Eri. "You've been thinking about him way before this happened, haven't you? That's why you two ditched the party together, right? You were hoping this would happen."

Eri glared. How could she say something like that?! "I did _not _hope something like this would happen!" she replied, putting her hands on her hips and leaning towards Mikoto to emphasize her anger. "Hige is a jerk, a jackass who has no idea how to be a good person! He's rude, he's arrogant, he's sneaky, he's brutish—"

"And you think he's hot stuff," Mikoto added, smirking.

"Yes!" Eri said. Suddenly she realized what she said and corrected, "I mean no! No I don't think he's hot! Damn it!"

Mikoto shook her head. "Come on, you have to admit it and get past this," she told Eri. "This 'will they won't they' crap is getting annoying, not just for us but I'm sure for you too. Next time you see Harima, just stand up to him and talk to him! One way or another you two have to clear the air!"

Eri looked down at her feet. Mikoto was right, as much as she really hated admitting it. She couldn't spend the rest of her life avoiding Harima, as much as she may have wanted to. They had to talk it over. They had to straighten things out. Even if it meant nothing, she had to know. And yet, there was a small part of her that hoped it wasn't nothing. She would never admit that to either herself or her friends, though. "Maybe I will," she muttered instead.

"Good!" Mikoto announced, grabbing Eri's arm and pulling the girl down the street as the trio set off back towards Tenma's house. Eri couldn't believe what Mikoto was talking her into doing. She was thankful that she would at least have the night to figure out what to say to Harima before eventually meeting him at school the next day. Of course, if he committed suicide before school, she wouldn't be averse to that. It'd save her the embarrassment.

When they arrived at the house, Mikoto let them in without warning, calling out, "The cavalry's here, and we're gonna cheer you up whether you want us to or not!" But what they saw inside was a shock. Tenma was sitting at her table, a pot of tea in her hand. Sitting opposite her was Harima Kenji, holding a teacup and staring at the door expressionlessly, as if he had just seen something terrifying and wasn't sure how to react.

Eri's eyes widened in terror. Mikoto grinned at her. She was doomed.

* * *

Harima was frozen, like a deer in headlights. Tenma had explained her situation with Karasuma, despite the fact that he only listened half-heartedly. He was just too happy that Tenma even wanted to talk to him at all. But now, literally the last person Harima wanted to see now or ever had just walked right in the door. Oujou.

"You guys," Tenma said quietly, smiling weakly and putting the teapot down. "Thanks so much."

"No problem at all!" Mikoto said, taking a cake box and setting it on the table. While Mikoto and Akira tried to make small talk with Tenma, Eri walked up behind Harima.

"Hige, we need to talk about what happened," she began to mutter half under her breath, crossing her arms behind her back and looking halfway between sheepish and annoyed.

Harima cringed and pulled back. "Eh?" Tenma asked. "Did something happen?"

"H-Hige and I... We—"

Harima didn't let Eri finish. He knew just what she was going to do. If Tenma found out about what happened, he would lose any chance of a happy ending with her! That bitch was going to ruin everything! Harima didn't think about what he was doing. He simply acted on instinct. The only way he would get out of this was by keeping Tenma from hearing what Eri had to say. So the answer was simple. Before Eri could finish her sentence, Harima jumped up from the table, knocking over the teacups, and grabbed Tenma's arm. Before anyone could react, he had pulled the girl under her arm. With Tenma secure, he broke into a run, tearing out of the room and barrelling past Mikoto and Akira.

The three girls remained in stunned silence after he left. Eri stammered for a few moments, her eye twitching. "W-what the hell?" she asked.

"After them!" Mikoto shouted, jumping to her feet and grabbing Eri's arm, dragging her after.

"Why?!" Eri asked.

"You have to finish your discussion," Akira chimed in, jumping to her feet as well, grabbing Eri's other arm, and starting off running after them, without giving Eri the opportunity to protest.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Tenma asked Harima from her position under his arm.

"Far away!" he shouted back, intent only on putting distance between them and Eri. Preferably no less than two prefectures distance.

"Are Mikoto and the others coming with us?" she asked, pointing behind them.

Harima looked over his shoulder. "Crap!" he shouted as he saw Mikoto and Akira sprinting after him, dragging Eri behind them.

"Get him!" Mikoto called out.

"Roger," Akira announced, reaching into her coat and pulling out a handgun. _Guns?_ Where the hell did she get _guns? _One way or the other, Akira started firing warning shots at Harima, nicking his hair and almost taking off his shades.

"Don't kill him!" Eri shouted in a panic.

"I'm only attempting to disable him," Akira informed them.

"Nobody's disabling me!" Harima shouted, turning a corner. This was starting to turn into a marathon of death. He noticed Akira following him, but Mikoto and Eri weren't with her. They must have split up. Akira had now discarded her gun and had decided to start lobbing grenades. The gun he could understand, but where did she get_grenades?_ He just hoped Tenma would be okay. A quick glance down at her showed that Tenma seemed unsure whether to be excited, worried, or angry that they were making a mess of her house. Well, at least she wasn't hurt.

Harima's brief lapse of attention proved to be his undoing ultimately. He didn't realize what had happened until he turned the corner up ahead and almost ran smack into Eri. Harima skidded to a halt and tried to turn around and take off in another direction, but it was too late. Eri finally got to say what she tried to. "We need to talk about you and I having sex!" she announced.

All of a sudden, all went still. There was no sound, no motion. It was as if time itself had stopped. Harima had no idea how much time had passed, but he knew that every second was agony. Eri was blushing, Harima had a terrified look on his face, and Tenma looked... neutral. Her expression was unreadable. Mikoto and Akira caught up to them in the middle of their tableau, and just observed the scene, choosing to let it unfold on its own.

Harima couldn't figure out what to say. He stammered for words; Eri had just ruined his life, and he needed to find the perfect furious, hateful words to share with her in thanks. Eri waited for his response expectantly; she apparently wasn't sure how he would respond and wanted to see what would happen. However, neither of them was given the chance to respond first. That honour fell to Tenma. "Eh?" she asked. "You two are a couple now?" she asked.

"That's not—"

"That's great!"

Harima dropped Tenma in surprise at what she said. "What?!" he asked.

Tenma picked herself up and looked up at him. For the first time that night, she had a genuine smile; the kind of smile that Harima fell in love with in the first place. "So _that's _why you were running away!" she reasoned. "You were embarrassed about telling me!" Harima tried to figure out something to say to correct this terrible misunderstanding, but Tenma wasn't finished. "That's so cute!" she told him, giggling softly. Tenma quickly turned to Eri, grabbing the girl's hands. "I'm so happy for you!" she announced.

"Uh, thanks?" Eri responded shakily, as if she weren't sure whether to thank Tenma or ask if she was insane.

Tenma pulled back, making a fist in the air. She suddenly took on a very determined look, as she announced, "You've all inspired me! I know just what to do about Karasuma now! No more running and hiding! I just have to march right up to him and tell him how I feel!"

"Great plan!" Mikoto piped in cheerfully.

"Isn't it?" Tenma asked happily. "Now let's go eat that cake!"

"Yeah!"

As Tenma walked back to the living room with Mikoto and Akira, Harima and Eri stood in the hallway, staring after them. Neither one of them was quite sure what had just happened.

* * *

Yakumo slowly began to wake up, blinking softly as she looked around. She wasn't in Harima's apartment anymore; that was for sure. She was at home, in her living room. She slowly sat up and looked around.

Sitting at the dinner table was her sister, Mikoto, Akira, Eri, and Harima. Tenma was happily eating cake, Harima looked as if he was going to be sick, Mikoto was grinning at Eri, Eri looked so embarrassed she could die, and Akira just watched them all with her usual quiet indifference.

"I wonder what happened," Yakumo mused quietly.

* * *

The next day at school, Tenma marched confidently down the hallway, her pigtails bobbing with each step. She knew just what to do; all she had to do was find Karasuma. She would settle this right now. She would tell him that his new hussy wasn't fit for him and that she loved him, and then he was going to be with her, they'd be happy, get married, and have four children. She was a girl on a mission.

As luck would have it, Tenma found Karasuma in the same place she found him before, on the stairs. And unfortunately, she saw him with the same girl as before. It was like a flashback to her, only this time she had a plan. In fact, she was glad the other girl was there. Tenma had a few choice words for her too, for having the audacity to come between her and her Karasuma.

The two were talking about something Tenma couldn't quite make out, and so she felt perfectly justified in interrupting them. "Karasuma-kun!" she called out, marching up the stairs to meet them. "I want to talk to you about something!"

"Oh, Tenma, hello," Karasuma greeted her, his voice as monotone and expressionless as usual. He was so cool, Tenma thought, feeling her legs grow weak at listening to him speak. Before Tenma could talk, he gestured to the girl next to him. "This is San," he informed her. "We're making plans to form a curry club."

"I even picked out a room and everything!" San said happily. "Karasuma-kun is the only other person here that loves curry as much as I do, so I asked for his help! It's nice to meet you, Tenma-chan," she added. "Karasuma has said such interesting things about you!"

Tenma almost felt as if she had been given a right hook across the face. She tried to take a mental stock of what she just learned. "So," she began slowly, "you two are just making a curry club?" she affirmed.

Karasuma nodded. "You're welcome to join if you like," he informed her.

So Karasuma wasn't cheating on her. He hadn't found another woman. He was just collaborating with her to form a new club. It was perfectly reasonable, and when she thought about it, she realized it made perfect sense. After all, how could he possibly be interested in any girl other than her? That was just crazy! They were destined to be together! All of a sudden, Tenma felt very shy. "I might just do that," she told them, putting her hand on her head and laughing sheepishly. "I just remembered, I need to get going, I'll let you two get back to work on your club. See you later!" Quickly excusing herself, Tenma took off up the stairs and away from them, not giving them another chance to respond. Nothing was ever easy when it came to Karasuma, she thought. But she knew that in the end it would all be worth it, and that thought alone made it all right.

* * *

Harima stood on the roof of the school, leaning against the chain link fence, hanging his head in shame. Tenma thought he was dating Oujou, she was going to patch things up with Karasuma, and now she knew all about what happened. Things couldn't possibly get any worse.

"Hige, are you busy?"

He took that back. "Go away," he muttered to Eri, hoping she took the hint but knowing she was too dense and pig-headed to do so.

"No," she said. He didn't pay her the courtesy of looking at her as she spoke, but he could hear her footsteps as she approached him. "We really need to talk about this," she told him.

"I don't want to talk to you!" he announced, whirling around and staring at her worried face. For only the briefest of moments he thought she looked meek and appealing, but he didn't pay it a second thought. He was pissed off, first and foremost. "You've ruined everything! You just couldn't help blabbing to everyone about what happened without thinking about the consequences! You just couldn't help ruining my life by spreading vicious rumours about us being a couple!"

In true form, Eri was quick to retort, just as angrily as he did. "I've ruined everything?!" she shouted. "It wasn't just me at fault here! You're the one who agreed to get drinks with me! You're the one who woke up in my bed with me! You're the one who just had to ignore me and pretend I didn't exist after it happened!"

"Nothing happened!"

"And we'll never know for sure!" Eri replied. "But the evidence was there, and now we have to deal with it, one way or another!"

"There's nothing to deal with!" he insisted.

"Yes there is," she said, finally lowering her tone as she tried to reign in her rage. "I don't care if you love me or not," she began, "but we have to get back on speaking terms. I regret it, you regret it, let's just leave it at that and stop dancing around each other. I want to get back to normal as much as you do, so let's just say it happened, put it behind us, and stop this ignoring each other crap." Harima listened quietly. Her words did ring true to him; he couldn't ignore her forever, no matter how much he wanted to. And since there was no way she would simply drop dead for him, they had to make peace somehow.

"You stop telling people what happened and that we're a couple," Harima instructed.

"Mikoto is the one who told everyone," Eri explained. Figures, Harima thought. "There's no way I'd admit we were a couple, even if we _were._"

"Good."

"Friends?" Eri asked.

"No," Harima responded tartly. "But I don't hate you as much anymore."

Eri sighed. "Same here, Hige."

Harima was glad they had settled things when they did, because at that moment, Tenma decided to take the opportunity to burst onto the roof and announce her cheerful presence. "I'm glad to see you two!" she called out, hurrying over to them, the smile on her face warming Harima's heart. "Everything worked out, and I'm feeling all better!"

"That's great!" Harima announced, lifting his fist and smiling.

"Thank you both so much!" she said, clasping her hands in front of herself. "If it weren't for you two I wouldn't have been able to do it!"

"I'm glad I could help!" Harima replied. Seeing Tenma so happy, and knowing that he was responsible for it started to give him back hope. She wasn't furious with him after all, and in fact she was thankful to him! Maybe this was a sign that he could make his move! He had to—

"When I finally start dating Karasuma, we should all double date some time! Me and Karasuma and you and Eri! It'll be fun!" Tenma suggested.

Harima's heart sank. He felt like crumbling to dust and blowing away in the wind while Tenma excused herself with a giggle and skipped off back into the school building, leaving the forlorn Harima and the embarrassed Eri together, staring at the door where she left. Eri looked at Harima quietly. She could see the pain in his gaze as he felt his world come to an end. She decided to try and cheer him up.

"Wanna go get a drink?" she asked.

* * *

Late that night, Nakamura finally had Kenji in his sights. The fiend was finally alone, lying in his bed and sleeping, surely dreaming of his next form of debauchery. Nakamura had a perfect shot lined up; how could he miss when he was standing at the foot of the bed and aiming the rifle right at Harima's head from close range? Nakamura stared down the sight of the rifle at the sleeping delinquent, but he didn't shoot. Instead, he muttered, "Take care of Sawachika-sama," and ran for the open window, leaping out and disappearing into the night. 


End file.
